Gas turbine engine designers continuously work to improve engine efficiency, to reduce operating costs of the engine, and to reduce specific exhaust gas emissions such as NOx, CO2, CO, unburnt hydrocarbons, and particulate matter. The specific fuel consumption (SFC) of an engine is inversely proportional to the overall thermal efficiency of the engine, thus, as the SFC decreases the fuel efficiency of the engine increases. Furthermore, specific exhaust gas emissions typically decrease as the engine becomes more efficient. The thermal efficiency of the engine is a function of component efficiencies, cycle pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature. The present invention contemplates increased thermal efficiency for a gas turbine engine by improving turbine efficiency through a new aerodynamic design of the first stage turbine airfoil.